Bathtub



July 13, 1937. '||.A N. DAvocK BATHTUB Filed Apzfil l, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l July 13, 192s?, Y H. Ni DAVOCK 2,087,183

BATHTUB Filed Apri1-1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 13, 1937UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE `nii'rlrlu Harlow N. Davock, Birmingham.Mich. Application April 1, 1935, sei-lain. 14,118

7Claims.

to conserve space in the bathroom and reduce the cost of tubmanufacture.

More speclcally, the occupant receiving com- 10 partment of the 4tubherein disclosed will be found to extend diagonally of the tub and towiden appreciably toward what might be said to be the rear end of thetub, thus distributing thel tub space to the greatest advantage for tubbathing and for shower purposes.

0f course. I recognize it to be old to provide a tub having a diagonaloccupant receiving comfpartment. However, one side wall of the occupantreceiving compartment of the tub forming the subject of this applicationwill be found to extend substantially parallel to the back side oi thetube, while the other side wall of the occupant receiving compartmentextends at an angle to the front of the tub causing the compartment 25to are toward'the rear end thereof and leaving, l

a single seat or step at the approachl side of the tub for foot bathingand other purposes. This is in contrast to other tubs of the so-calleddiagonal type in which the sides of the occupant receiving compartmentare parallel, leaving a pair of diagonally opposite seats when one issulcient for most purposes vand being without theadvantages ilowing fromthe widening of the tub toward the rear end thereof.

In addition, the invention looks to a bathtub in-which one end portionoi the bottom thereof is depressed to form a footbasin and at the sametime to allow an easier posture in the tub by permitting a substantialangleat theknees.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple means by whichthe tub may be attached to the adjacent wall in a manner allowing forshrinkage.

Another feature ofthe invention resides inthe provision of what might besaid to be a face or front plate which projects above the tub toconfinewater and at the same time to serve as a housing for a curtain trolleyor other curtain attaching means. p

A further attribute of the invention resides in the vprovision of asimple slip joint between the face or front plate of the tub and the-iioor of the bathroom, providingfa constantly closejoint 55 at thispoint notwithstanding shrinkage on the part of the iloor jolsts or otherparts of the house. v i

Another object of the invention is to provide a bath tub which is ofhighly simplified construcc tion, attractive, and one which, by reasonof the other advantages herein set forth, has a commercial appeallacking in other tubs.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this application and inwhich like numerals Y are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

Figure 1 is a perspective of the improved tub set in place, parts beingbroken away,-

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the tub, parts be- Figure 5 isatransverse sectional view taken on line 5-`-5.of Figure 3- In thedrawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferredembodiment of lthe invention, the numeral il) generally designates theimproved tub. It is preferred to draw the tub from sheet steel or othermetal, although it will be recognized that certain features of the tubmay be embodied in cast iron or other tubs. By reference to Figures 1and 3, it will be seen that the tub is formed with an occupantreceivingcompartment I2 having the inner longitudinal side. wall thereofextending approximately parallel to what might be said to be the backside of the tub. while the other side of the compartment is extended atan angle to the front longitudinal side of the tub causing thecompartment to nare appreciably toward the rear end thereof, Theincreased width oi the rear portion of the occupant receivingcompartment provides an ample seating space for'the bather and at thesame time looks to a generous shower space.

'By disposing one side wall of the compartment approximately parallel tothe back side of the tub and disposing theother side wall of thecompartment diagonally with respect to the front side of the tub, thelongitudinal center of the widened portion of the compartment is placedapproximately at the longitudinal center of the tub, while the forwardor foot portion of the compartment is disposed at one corner of the tub7 For example, a tub embodying this invention and having an overalllength of 4 feet 6 inches will be found to have the same lengthcompartment as in a standard 5 foot tub.- In addition, a 4 i't. 6 in.ltub embodying this invention and with a compartmentlengthequal to thatof a 5 it. tub, need be only 3 feet in width, as compared to thestandard width of 4 feet, thereby conserving an appreciable amount ofbathroom space, a matter of major consideration.

By extending the back wall of theoccupant receiving compartmentsubstantially parallel to the back wall of the tub and extending theother wall of the compartment at an angle tothe front walll 9i the tub;and in converging relation to the first-named side wall of thecompartment, there is provided but a single step or seat Il and this, ofcourse, is at the approach side of the tub. This seat might be said tobe approximately triangular in form and is of a generous area for footbathing and for use as a 'step for entering or leaving the tub. f r

As previously set forth, the provision of but a Asingle seat in the tubis adequate for all ordinary purposes and is in contrast to a pair ofdiagonally opposite seats, which while presenting a symmetrical design,detract greatly from the bathing and shower space and which do not allowmaximum compartment length and width.

By extending the side walls of the compartment I2 in converging relationtoward what might bel said .to bethe forward end of the tub, the for--ward portion of such compartment is necessarily reduced in width. f Itisat the reduced end portion of the compartment. that the bottom wallthereof is depressed for foot bathing and at the same time to allow aneasy posture in the tub, because this permits rather sharp bending ofthe knees. The foot bathing recess or depression, which is rathershallow,D will be found to be immediately inward of the seat M and to bewithin easy reach of a person occupying this seat. -As shown in Figures2 and 5, the depressed portion of the bottom of the tub may extend belowthe level of the floor 24 to allow thex entire tub to occupy a lowerposition than would otherwise be possible, although'this isnot'necessary.

'I'iie inner sides and the end walls of the tub are shown to be formedwith angle bars 30 or to be L-shaped in cross-section for attachment tothe adjacent studdingmr other material of the wall. That is to say, theangle bars 30 have the outer flanges thereof directed upward and formedwith a generous number of apertures, possibly one every lthree-quartersof an inch, for the reception of screws, bolts orother fastening devicesby which the' anglebars are securely anchored Ato the wall. By thisarrangement, I am enabled to avoid objectionable cracks at this point,due -to shrinkage. A

In the case of an ordinary cast iron tub, it is dimcult to attach thetub directly tp the studding. Thus, theA ordinary tub is merely pushedagainst the studding with anat flange and plastered or tiled down tothis flange. When shrinkage occurs in the iioor joists beneath the tub,

the tub settles away from the plaster or tile causing a crack to developwhere the tub meets the fwall. 4

In the case of invention, the tub is attached rmly -to the studdingand'is held thereto notwithstanding settlement of the floor below. Thatisto say, the tub is suspended from the studding and does not rely forsupport on the iioor joists.

The tub also embodies a front or face plate 5I! the adjacent side of thetub. That is to say, the

front side of the tub is provided with a downwardly directed flangewelded or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the face plate 50 ata point spaced below the upper'edge of such face plate. This connectionof the face plate 50 with the tub provides a rigid construction and atthe same time reducesthe costv4 of manufacture.

That portion of the face plate 50 which projects above the tub isprovided with a vreturn bend to confine water that may otherwise splashout of the tub and at the saine time to serve as a housing for a curtainattaching means 62. The curtain attaching means 62 may be in the natureof rollers or trolley members slidably mounted within the housing 60 andserving as a means to hold in place the lower portion of the curtain 64.Of course, the inner edge oi' the housing 60 is spaced somewhat abovethe top of the tub to form a slot for the passage of the trolley or themeans'by which the trolley is connected to the shower curtain. The faceplate 50 has the lower edge portion thereof extended beneath the leveloi.' the floor to provide a slip joint with the floor and in this wayallows for shrinkage and settlement. By reference to Figure 1, it willbe seen that the face plate is formed with triangular depressionsarranged in spaced parallel relation and progressively decreasing inlength toward the lower portion of the plate to present a symmetricaldesign and at the vsame time to avoid wrinkles as an incident to thepressing operation.

Having thus-described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In-a tub of the character specied, a bodyl having longitudinaLsides.said body being prohaving one `side wall extended approximately parallelto one longitudinal side wall of the body and having a second side wallinonverging relation to the first-named side wall of the compartment andextending diagonally with respect to the adjacent side wall of the bodyto widen the compartment toward one end thereof for generous seating andshower space and dening a' seat at one end portion of the body.

2. In a tub of the character specied, a body having longitudinal sides,said body being provided with an occupant receiving compartment havingone side wall extended approximately parallel to one longitudinal sideof the body and having a second side wall in converging relation to therst-named side wall of the compartment and extending diagonally with'respect to the adjacent side wall ofthe body to widen the compartmenttoward one endv thereof for generous seating and shower space anddefining a seat at one end portion of the body, said seating and ceivingcompartment also being formed with a second side wall in diverging.relation to the firstnamed side wall of the compartment and. in

diagonal relation to the and front side of the 75 .40 vided with anoccupant receiving compartment to the back side of the tub for the majorportion of the length of the tub, said occupant receiving compartmentalso being formed with a second side wall in diverging relation to thefirst-named side wall of the compartment and in diagonal relation to thesaid front side'o'f the tubcausing the compartment tovwiden ap'-jpreciably toward one end thereof and dening a seat adjacent one end ofthe compartment and the front side of the tub, said compartment beingprovided with a bottom having vone end.

portion thereof depressed adjacent to said seat to form a foot bathingrecess and allowing an easy posture in the tub.

5. In a tub of the character specied, a body approximately rectangularin outline and having frontand back sides, said body also being formedwith an occupant receiving compartment'. having one side wall extendedapproximately parallel to the back side of the tub for the major portionof the length of the tub, said occupant receiving compartment also beingformed with a second side wall in diverging relation to the first-namedside Wall of the compartment and in diagonal relation to the said frontside of the tub causing the compartment to widen appreciably toward oneend thereof and defining a seat adjacent one end of the compartment,said seat being below the top level of the tub and above the bottomlevel of the tub and functionlng as a step.

6. In a tub of the character described, a body having a generallyrectangular shape, said body being provided with an occupant receivingcompartment having one side wall extended approximately parallel to onelongitudinal side wall of the body and having a second side wall inconverging relation to the first named side wall and extendingdiagonally from a point intermediate one end wall ofthe body to a pointadjacent the side wall of the body opposite to the rst named side wall,thereby providing an occupant receiving compartment extendinglsubstantially diagonally of the tub body and having 4 a seating portionwhich utilizes substantially the entire width of the tub body, whiledening va seat at one end of the body between the diag. onal side wallof thel occupant seating compartment and the adjacent side and end wallof the tub bodv.

7. In a tub of the character described, a body having a generallyrectangular shape, said body being provided with an occupant receivingcompartment havingy one side wall extended approximately parallel to onelongitudinal side wall of the body and having a second side wall inconverging relation to the rst named side wall A and extendingdiagonally from a point intermediate one end wall of the body to a pointadjacent .the side wall of the body opposite to the first-named sideWall, thereby providing an occupant receiving compartment extendingsubstantially diagonally of the tub body and having a seating portionwhich utilizes substantially the entire width of the tub body, whiledefining a seat at one end of the body between the diagonal side wall ofthe occupant seating compartment and the adjacent side and end wall ofthe tub body, said compartment having a bottom with its narrowest enddepressed adjacent said seat to form a. foot bathing recess.

HARLOW N. DAVOCK.

